Salvador Dali Dance of Time Limited Edition Blue & Silver Limited Edition Visconti Fountain Pen
The beginning of 2013 marked the inauguration of a Salvador Dalí exhibition in one of Florence’s finest buildings, the Palazzo Medici Riccardi, and so it came almost naturally to Visconti to create a surrealist pen dedicated to the artist. The pen is taken from an image by Salvador Dalí, “The Dance of Time I”©, and the pen rests on another image by Dalí called “The Profile of Time“©, which is transformed into a beautiful pen stand (©IAR Art Resources). Both these images highlight Dalí’s obsession and pre-occupation with his “melting” clock.
The “melting” clock is the best known and best loved of all of Dalí’s iconoclastic images; the omnipresent fluidity of time is shown not only as movement but almost as though it was a dance to the rhythm of the universe. Universal time knows no bounds; we should remember that time, as it is generally understood, is a concept devised by man. Dalí’s time, on the other hand, is perpetual, it “moves forward in a dance” without ever stopping either for man or for history, indeed not even for the cosmos. The image depicts Dalí’s deeply fantastical relationship with time, his perception of the limitations that it enforces on us and the importance that the artist assigned to memory.
Surrealist Themes
Visconti’s intention was not merely to revive Surrealist imagery but to encapsulate Dalí’s Surrealist endeavour in a space as small as the surface of a pen. The Visconti “The Dance of Time I”© imitates and embodies a number of Dalí’s most important and widely loved themes, including:
Lobster: This was one of Dali’s great obsessions; an animal that is hard on the outside and soft on the inside. This concept is represented through the materials of the pen- the hard pen body is made from sterling silver whilst the soft interior of the pen is represented by free flowing ink.
Newton: Dali carved two holes into his ‘Newton’ sculptural figure; one portraying the absence of Newton’s vital organs and the other his lack of mind. These holes represent the transformation of Sir Isaac Newton from a real human with personality and individuality into a simple scientific name. Visconti carves two windows into the pen – each displaying the heart of the pen and its inner workings; the nib, ink and piston rod can all be seen.
Bleeding Heart: Dalis “Unicorn Heart” is bleeding, but on the Visconti pen it is not real blood… it is represented from the ink that trickles gently from the pens interior towards the nib.
Drawers: Dalis ‘Woman Aflame’ sculpture unites two of his obsessions: fire and a female figure with drawers. The flames are consuming, and symbolize the masked intensity of unconscious desire, while the drawers symbolize the mystery of hidden secrets. For Dali, a woman’s mystery is her true beauty. Visconti captures these two concepts; the pens filling system is itself a hidden secret and is only revealed by opening the blind cap, sensuality is captured through the pens form and figure and importantly the sensual experience of the hand written note.
Melting Watch: Visconti could not resist reproducing on the pen’s barrel, for purely decorative purpose, the “Dance of Time I”© which adorns almost half of the pen’s body.
Profile of Time: Visconti has replicated the sculpture “The Profile of Time”©, which portrays a melting watch hanging from a tree, and has been exactly reproduced in brass to create an incredible pen stand.
Visconti Dance of Time I©, Limited Edition
This Limited edition pen is made from 925 sterling silver and is available in two finishes: blue enamel with silver trim and green enamel with gold vermeil trim. Each pen is accompanied by an exact replication of the “The Profile of Time”© sculpture which also functions as a pen stand.
Product Specifications
Limited Edition: 904 pens
Material: 925 sterling silver, rhodium plated with blue enameling
Artwork: Microfusion in enameled sterling silver
Box: Wooden box and metal pen stand
inspired by Dalí’s “The Profile of Time”©
Nib: 23 Kt Dreamtouch Palladium
Nib Sizes: EF, F, M, B, BB, and 1.3 Stub
Filling System: Double-Reservoir Power Filler
Retail Price: $4950
This listing is for the Blue Version, the Green Version in a separate listing…
